North Dakota, Mining Industry Lead Growth for Personal Income Gains in 2011

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its "State Personal Income 2011" report today, and here are some highlights:

1. State personal income rose 5.1% in 2011 following a 3.7% increase in 2010, a -1.7% decrease in 2009 and a 3.9% gain in 2008.  

2. North Dakota led the country with the highest gain in state income for 2011 (8.1%), the largest increase in per-capita state income (6.7%), and the highest gain in personal income during the last quarter of 2011 (1.5%). 

3. Mining had the highest earnings growth rate by industry in 2011 at 25.4%, led by a 70% increase in mining income for North Dakota, a 41% increase in Oklahoma, and a 38% increase in Pennsylvania.

MP: More evidence that increased drilling for oil and natural gas in states like North Dakota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania is not only creating thousands of shovel-ready jobs, but thousands of high-paying jobs that are boosting personal income for workers in the mining industry in those states.